Astik Kumar Pandey's action ired the BJP delegation but the fine was exacted
Aurangabad municipal commissioner Astik Kumar Pandey, who took charge on Monday, has imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on a civic official who came to welcome him with a bouquet that was wrapped in plastic.
The official, Ramchandra Mahajan, an assistant director in the town planning department, had to pay the fine amount on the spot.
On Tuesday, BJP corporator Manisha Munde presented a pen packed in a gift paper to Pandey. The civic chief slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on her for using the wrapper.
Ms Munde was part of a BJP delegation, led by party leader Pramod Rathod, that went to welcome Mr Pandey as he assumed office.
Mr Pandey's action annoyed the BJP delegation, but the fine was recovered on the spot.
Peeved at imposition of the fine, Ms Munde said the delegation was earlier told that wrapping paper is not included in the list of banned plastic items.
Talking to media after the incident, she said the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) till date has never taken any action against the use of gift paper.
"Before visiting him, our activists consulted the chief of the solid waste disposal department, Nandkumar Bhombe, who said that wrapping paper was not included in the list of banned plastic materials," Ms Munde said.
"The only reason we paid the fine was not to let down the civic commissioner," she said.
After imposing the fine on Mr Mahajan on Monday, Mr Pandey said, "This was a message to all those who use plastic in city. I am requesting everyone to stop use of single use plastic. But moves against it will be tightened in the days to come."
Government offices across the country have been making efforts to ban single-use plastic items from their premises after a call for their elimination was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech this year.
In June last year, the Maharashtra government imposed a ban on a variety of plastic products, including single-use disposable items, and started penalising all those found using them.
It banned manufacturing, use, sale, distribution and storage of plastic materials such as bags, spoons, plates and other disposable items. The ban also included packaging material and thermocol.